The 80 best phrases of Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali, known early in his career as Cassius Clay, was a celebrated American boxer considered one of the best in boxing history.

As a person, Ali during his life fought for the rights of the African American community and for the acceptance of Islam in the United States. The personality of this fighter made him one of the most influential people of his generation. During his career as a boxer Ali fought against other boxing greats such as: Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier, George Foreman or Larry Holmes.

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Great phrases from Muhammad Ali, an unforgettable boxer

His sports career was one of the most successful in history, but what made Muhammad Ali really great was undoubtedly his personality and his values. Do you want to know the best phrases of this legend of the ring?

Then you will discover the 80 best phrases of Muhammad Ali, an icon of the ring and of the social struggle that we must never forget.

1. Wisdom is knowing when you cannot be wise.

Knowing how to accept our own shortcomings is the first step towards wisdom.

2. I'm so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room went dark.

Ali's technique and speed changed the world of boxing forever.

3. When you're as great as I am, it's hard to be humble.

The personality of this boxer was always somewhat eccentric, boxing psychology is very important.

4. I'm young; I am handsome; I'm fast. I can't be beat.

In order to be successful in the world of boxing, we must have great confidence in ourselves.

5. We spend more time learning how to earn a living than learning how to make a living.

Values ​​and principles are things that we do not learn in school, what we do is not what we are.

6. It's hard to be humble when you're as good as I am.

Humility is a quality that not all people possess, especially if you are the heavyweight champion.

7. Rivers, ponds, lakes, and streams - they all have different names, but they all contain water. Like religions, they all contain truths.

As a Muslim, Ali embraced the religion of his ancestors, an act that earned him many detractors at the time of him.

8. Throughout my life, I have been tested. My will has been tested, my courage has been tested, my strength has been tested. Now my patience and stamina are being tested.

Life always brings new challenges for us, to be victorious will depend in many cases on our attitude.

9. Often times it's not the mountains that wear you down, it's the little pebble in your shoe.

Small discomforts can end up causing a much greater evil, we must tackle problems when they are small.

10. I buy weapons from them, I buy airplanes from them, but I am not going to war.

The hypocrisy of the United States with its politics was something that this particular boxer always detested.

11. Champions are not made in gyms, they are made of something immaterial that they have deep inside them. It is a wish, a dream, a vision.

In order to be champions we must put all the meat on the grill, our will will lead us to victory.

12. My toughest fight was against my first wife.

Love relationships can be very torturous, Ali explains it to us in this controversial quote.

13. If you love God, you cannot love only some of his children.

All people are equal and we should enjoy the same rights.

14. He should be a stamp. That's the only way they're going to lick me.

In this quote Ali shows us his particular sense of humor, without a doubt this fighter had a very peculiar way of communicating with the media.

15. If you dream of beating me, you better wake up and ask for forgiveness.

In this way, Ali communicated to his opponents that not even in his best dreams will they be able to defeat him.

16. Friendship is not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you haven't really learned anything.

Friendship is a relationship that can bring us many positive aspects in our life. Our friends will always be with us in the most difficult moments.

17. I will show you how great I am.

Perhaps this is the most iconic phrase of Muhammad Ali, with it he shows us his strong character and his great hunger for success.

18. A man who sees the world the same at 50 as he did at 20, has lost 30 years of his life.

We must evolve throughout our lives, we must never remain stagnant. We can always learn something new.

19. Live every day as if it were your last because one day you will be right.

Seizing the moment will help us live a much fuller life. Now is the only thing we really have.

20. What you are thinking is what you are becoming.

Our thoughts shape us as individuals, we are what we think.

21. Age is what you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.

Age can be just a number, it is never too late for anything. As long as we are alive we can try again.

22. The fight is won or lost away from the witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and on the road; Long before I danced under those lights

Preparation is the most important thing in a boxing match, we must be physically and mentally prepared to win.

23. I know where I'm going and I know the truth, and I don't have to be what you want me to be. I am free to be what I want.

As Ali tells us, we must be who we want to be. We must live life our way.

24. I hated every minute of training, but I said: Don't give up. He suffers now and lives the rest of your life as a champion.

When we want to achieve a great goal, we must know that we will have to make a great sacrifice to achieve it. Are you willing to do whatever it takes?

25. Question from a journalist: What are his favorite objects? Muhammad Ali's answer: Cars and mirrors.

What great sportsman does not like cars? A very honest response from this sports legend.

26. I am the boxing astronaut. Joe Louis and Dempsey were just jet pilots. I am in a world of my own.

The level Ali reached with his boxing had not been seen to date, it showed that his technique always outweighs strength.

27. It's not arrogance if you can hold it.

When we show that we are what we say, we are just being honest.

28. My principles are much more important than my money or my titles.

Our principles are a good part of who we are, we must never renounce them.

29. Think well of everything, be patient with everyone and try to find the good in everyone.

Our attitude in life can take us very far, in this quote, Ali gives us these wise advice.

30. My wealth is in my knowledge of self, love and spirituality.

Our thoughts are our most valuable assets, as they are what they make us as individuals.

31. There is nothing wrong with going down. Staying downstairs is wrong.

Only when we surrender are we truly defeated, we must rise again.

32. I am a boxing sage, a boxing scientist. I am a master of dance, a true artist of the ring.

Boxing demands great intelligence from its athletes, they must know how to analyze the opponent and be able to anticipate their movements before they happen.

33. Hating people for their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter what color you hate. It is simply wrong.

Racism is something that we should not allow in society, a person's skin color should never be a relevant factor. The really important thing about any human being is his values ​​and principles.

34. I try not to talk about all the charities and people I help, because I think we can only be truly generous when we don't expect anything in return.

Those who brag about being generous in the media are just making a paripe for the gallery.

35. It's just a job. The grass grows, the birds fly, the waves hit the sand. I hit people.

As an elite athlete, Ali had to be able to reconcile his family life with his professional life. Boxing is as noble a sport as any other.

36. When you want to talk about who made me, he talks to me. The one who made me is ME.

The experiences we go through during life and how we cope with them reveal us as individuals.

37. I have never allowed anyone to convince me not to believe in myself.

The opinions of others should never outweigh our own. We must not get carried away by third parties.

38. It is the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief turns into a deep conviction, things start to happen.

When we really believe in something, that is when we can make that something come true. If we don't believe in our possibilities, we will never achieve our goals.

39. Why am I being asked to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and shoot bullets at skinny people? dark while Louisville blacks are treated like dogs and denied the most human rights simple? I am not going to go 10,000 miles from here and stand up to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slavers.

During the Vietnam War this boxer was called up, refusing to withdraw his world champion title and his boxing license. Later a judge would rule that this sentence was totally arbitrary and they returned what was rightfully his.

40. I am America. I am the part that you will not recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, arrogant; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, mine; get used to me.

Muhammad Ali was very proud of himself and with this quote he shows it to us. He wasn't going to let them disrespect him.

41. I have no fight with the VietCong... No VietCong ever called me black

In those moments, this boxer felt more in struggle with his own country than with any other.

42. I am an ordinary man who worked hard to develop the talent that was given to me. I believed in myself, and I believe in the goodness of others.

Our effort and dedication will allow us to meet our goals in the future, we must be persistent.

43. I could see it. I could almost feel it. When I proclaimed that he was the greatest of all time, I believed in myself, and still do.

Believing in ourselves is totally necessary to be successful in life, this boxer is a clear example of this.

44. I believe in the religion of Islam. I believe in Allah and in peace.

Ali converted to Islam upon discovering that it was the religion of his ancestors. He returned to his roots physically and spiritually.

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45. A man who has no imagination has no wings.

Imagination is a very powerful weapon, a necessary weapon to be able to discover our goals in life.

46. I am the most recognized and loved man that ever lived, because there were no satellites when Jesus and Moses were around, so the people in the villages did not know anything about them.

With the arrival of new technologies, sport is transmitted worldwide, making its protagonists men and women famous worldwide.

47. The criticism only made me work harder.

We must use criticism as fuel for our ambition, we will show how much they are wrong.

48. You lose nothing when you fight for a cause… In my opinion, losers are those who don't have a cause that matters to them.

We all have something to fight for, and if not, why do it?

49. The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.

In order to achieve our goals we must get down to work, the road can be long and the sooner we start, the better.

50. Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer.

We should not make statements that we can regret, in these cases it is much better to remain silent.

51. When we dedicate all our actions to a spiritual goal, everything we do becomes a prayer.

Religion is a fundamental factor in the lives of millions of people, this fighter lived his conversion to Islam with great spirituality.

52. Superman doesn't need a seat belt.

Indeed, superheroes do not need to take the same precautions as other human beings. Ali was not afraid of anything in life.

53. I have fought a crocodile, I have fought a whale, I have handcuffed lightning, I have locked up in jail thunder, I killed a rock, I wounded a stone, I hospitalized a brick, I am so bad that I make the medicine.

The media, on certain occasions, were primed with Muhammad Ali, and as we can see the anger he felt towards them was palpable in the environment.

54. The greatest victory in life is to rise above the material things that we once value most.

Material goods are not really necessary, the best things we can possess are intangibles like love or freedom.

55. At home I'm a good guy: but I don't want the world to know. Humble people, I have discovered, don't go very far.

Indeed, in his private life Ali was a totally normal person, a friend of his friends and very familiar to him.

56. Wars of nations are fought to change the maps. But wars of poverty are fought to map change.

Wars are always unfair, and a war can be fought on many different battlefields. Economic wars are also being fought today.

57. Others may know pleasure, but pleasure is not happiness. It is no more important than a shadow following a man.

Pleasure and happiness certainly have nothing to do with it, pleasure can last only a second and happiness, a lifetime.

58. What keeps me going are the goals.

Our goals in life largely determine our daily actions. We must fix and pursue them tirelessly.

59. Jokes? There are no jokes. The truth is the funniest joke of all.

Humor is a vital aspect in the life of all people, with it we can make our life much more bearable.

60. It is the lack of faith that makes people afraid to face challenges, and I believed in myself.

Having faith in ourselves is the first step towards self-improvement, we must believe in ourselves and in our possibilities.

61. If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, surely they can make something with you.

They can always do something with the remains that Ali leaves from a boxer, he only thought of tearing them to shreds.

62. Sonny Liston is nothing. This man needs boxing lessons. And since he's going to fight me, he needs lessons from falling!

Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston's fight is one of the most legendary in boxing history. The birth of a legend.

63. If your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough.

We must not set limits in life, we are capable of making everything we propose come true.

64. He who is not brave enough to risk himself will not achieve anything in life.

In order to be successful, we must take risks on more than one occasion, certain personal achievements are not achieved if we do not give everything for them.

65. "Impossible" is just a big word thrown by little men who find it easier to live in the world they have been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It is an opinion. Impossible is not a statement. It is a challenge. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Nothing is impossible.

Nothing is impossible, only we ourselves set our limits in life.

66. People can't stand loudmouths, but they always listen to them.

Whenever you talk too much, there will be someone willing to see you screw it up.

67. Everyone is negotiable.

Ali was willing to box in any country in the world.

68. I sought advice and collaboration from those around me, but never his permission.

Knowing how to receive advice is a good practice, but we will always be the ones who make the final decision.

69. Only a man who knows what it's like to be defeated can go to the bottom of your soul and gain the extra ounce of power he takes to win when the match seems lost.

If we are able to rise again and again, in the end we will achieve victory,

70. I'm the best, I said it even before I knew it.

Ali always showed a positive attitude throughout his boxing career.

71. I float like a butterfly, beak like a bee. Your hands cannot reach what your eyes cannot see. Now You See Me, Now You Do not.

Who does not know this mythical phrase of the boxer? Technique is essential in boxing.

72. I'm doubly great, not only do I knock them out but I also choose the “round”.

As we can see, this famous athlete came to boast of his own rivals. They were nothing to the great Muhammad Ali.

73. I don't count my abs; I only start counting when it starts to hurt because they are the only ones who count.

Preparation for each fight is a fundamental aspect in boxing, training often determines who will be the winner of a fight.

74. We cannot be brave without fear.

Fear is a very human emotion, we must use it to try harder, if possible.

75. "Cassius Clay", that's what a slave is called. I didn't choose it, I didn't want it. I am Muhammad Ali, a free man.

He wanted to break with everything that had been imposed on him in life, he would give himself a name and decide his own future.

76. One person with knowledge of his life purpose is more powerful than ten thousand who work without that knowledge.

When we have a goal, we can focus all our efforts on being able to achieve it. We must know what we want in life.

77. Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.

We must be kind to others and try to improve society with our daily actions.

78. Do not count the days make the days count.

Living each day to the fullest will allow us to be much happier. As we read in this quote, we must make each day count.

79. To be a great champion, you have to believe that you are the best; if you are not, pretend you are.

If we do not believe in ourselves we will not succeed, it is important that our rival does not know that we do not believe in our possibilities.

80. If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it.

If we are fully determined, there will be nothing to stop us from our ascent to success.